‘He got what he deserves’
Jamaican family declares justice in life sentence of soldier for wife’s execution-style killing
Published:Friday | November 11, 2022 | 5:58 AM
The Jamaican family of a mother who was killed by her army husband in front of their two young children at their town house in southeast Colorado Springs on February 20, 2021, is satisfied after jurors arrived at a guilty verdict.
Jamaican Dermot Blake, 34, an ex-Fort Carson soldier who pumped multiple shots into his wife Tashianna Blake, 30, was on Wednesday found guilty of first-degree murder and child abuse.
Blake was found guilty after deliberation by a 12-member jury in El Paso County.
He was sentenced to life in prison as well as two separate terms of 12 months for two charges of child abuse.
The trial began on November 1.
Vinair Brown, Tashianna’s uncle who is on a visit to Jamaica, told The Gleaner that the verdict represents justice.
“He got what he deserves. Everybody in our family felt pain based on the incident, and that’s just what it is,” Brown, said adding that the past 21 months have been rough.
The court reportedly heard that Blake was shot 11 times, the last bullet striking her in the region of her forehead.
The Gleaner understands that several relatives of the deceased gave chilling testimonies during the sentencing hearing.
The couple’s six-year-old daughter also spoke during the hearing.
The first-degree guilty verdict for murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
The defence team was seeking a lesser charge of second degree murder or manslaughter.
The convicted man declined to speak in court when he was given a chance.
The matter went to trial as the accused maintained a not-guilty plea.
His attorney argued that he was not entirely innocent, describing the incident as a hasty and impulsive drunken “reaction to something”.
The prosecution argued that the former army man’s action was premeditated.
The court relied on doorbell camera recordings and said the trigger was pulled over the course of five minutes.
The children were left traumatised.
Blake reportedly called 911 and told officers that he shot his wife and that she was a “terrible person”.
Judge Samuel Evig ruled against the defence’s earlier attempt to label the proceedings a mistrial.
In a February 2021 Gleaner story, an uncle who resides in Jamaica said then that the family was devastated.
“She came out here when she was smaller. She and my sister came to visit,” he said of Mrs Blake, a realtor whose parents are both Jamaicans.
The family were particularly concerned how the killing would affect the couple’s children.
At the time of the murder, Blake was an active-duty sergeant at the Fort Carson military base.